Kate Recycles 2006 Coat for Paralympics Opening Ceremony

The Duchess brought back a familiar piece for tonight’s London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony.

It was another spectacular show in London.

London 2012 Website

Among the evening’s themes, inclusion, the song “Under my Umbrella” was perfect to start the evening. The staging, lighting, and choreography were stunning.

Paralympic Sport TV

Her Majesty was accompanied by the UK’s Sir Phillip Craven, he is the President of the International Paralympic Committee.

Above, you also see Prince Edward.

London 2012 Website

Other in attendance included (left to right) Samantha Cameron, Prince William, Kate, Princess Anne, and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Paralympic Sport TV

The Duchess maintained her focus on wearing very low-key pieces seen during the Olympic games, bringing back an item worn previously, a coat first seen at the 2006 wedding of Laura Parker Bowles to Harry Lopes at St. Cyriac’s in Wiltshire.

It was made by Danish Label DAY Birger et Mikkelsen, Kate repeated the piece in 2010 for the wedding of Mel Nicholson and Oli Baker at St. Andrews, and then again for the wedding of Zara Phillips in July of last year (seen below).

Another look at the Duchess tonight.

In an eBay auction the coat was described this way:

“…brocade fabric with a subtle gold paisley trimmed with champagne colour net. It is long sleeved with a single breasted, off-centre, three button fastening. It also has two flap pockets.

The lining is a soft grey colour and would be the perfect occasion coat for any wedding. Worn with a skirt or trousers it would make the perfect cocktail coat.”

More on the coat may be seen in this post, below, an image from the eBay auction referenced above.

eBay Auction

Many will recognize the Birger name, designer Malene Birger co-founded Birger et Mikkelsen and now has her own line. Kate has worn other pieces by Ms. Birger, including her ‘Bullet” dress.

Selfridges

Kate accessorized with her trusty LK Bennett Sledge 2 pumps.

She carried her Wilbur and Gussie gold clutch initially seen at the 100 Women in Hedge Funds dinner in October of last year (more here).

The Duchess also wore her pearl drop earrings suspended from diamond-studded hoops.

Activities have been underway for days, below we see the Team USA Basketball team.

USA in UK

The schedule for William, Kate, and Harry’s appearance at the Paralympics follows, prefaced by Clarence House’s caveat:

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are provisionally scheduled to attend during the Paralympic Games. Their Royal Highnesses will attend in their capacity as Official Ambassadors for Paralympics GB. All engagements are provisional and subject to change at this stage. Attendance will be confirmed nearer the time of each scheduled event.

Thursday 30th August

William and Kate will attend Goalball (at the Olympic Park).
William and Kate will attend the track cycling (at the Olympic Park).
Kate will attend the swimming (at the Olympic Park).

Sunday 2nd September

The Duchess of Cambridge will attend the Athletics (at the Olympic Stadium).

Monday 3rd September

Prince Harry will attend the swimming (at the Olympic Park).
Prince Harry will visit the Paralympics GB House.

Linkage:

The official Paralympics website is here, the official Paralympics Facebook page is here, follow them on Twitter here
The Team GB Paralympics website is here, its Facebook page here, and Twitter page here
The Daily Mail’s story is here

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Fashiophile

Thursday 30th of August 2012

I like this coat. It can be dressed up or down. My only thought is that being brocade it can look like upholstery but then all brocades do sadly. Still, the style suits her and the Duchess looks elegant. Samantha Cameron looks good too.

katefanatic

Friday 31st of August 2012

I saw that brocade is all over the fall runways---funny how the classics all come back around to being in style---the Duchess in on trend with a 6+ year old piece!!

Lili

I was never crazy about this coat -- I think it's somewhat dowdy, and the fabric should be covering a sofa. I also didn't much care for the Birger dress the Duchess wore in Canada. Though I like minimalist style and the Duchess clearly does, too, Birger just doesn't address my personal tastes.

However, I was interested to see the Duchess trotting out something that she's worn not once but three or four times before. Smart move, especially since I understand that she'll be unveiling about 30 new outfits on the upcoming Asia-Pacific trip.

I applaud the duchess for wearing a multiple-times reworn dress to keep the attention on the athletes. My only real "gripe" about this entire outfit is that the waist needs to be tailored to assure a better fit. So excited to see what she will be wearing on tour!

Megan

I'm intrigued with the mention that the Cambridges' and Harry's appearances at the Games might change. I wonder if this is in light of Harry's recent scandal - they can pull him out of an event, blame it on scheduling goof or "prior commitment," and move on.

I don't seem to recall seeing this mentioned before the Games last month, but maybe I didn't see it. It's interesting, is what I'm saying.

Justine

This coat looks more second hand then recycled. It does not look fresh and does not fit her properly. I think she might feel nostalgic about this coat and has a hard time parting from it. Probably one of the first pieces she ever bought as a princess in waiting.